Wednesday, June 20, 2007

In the past 14 years, over 11,000 service members have been discharged from the military for being homosexual.

One of these service members was Stephen Benjamin. He is one of the few servicemen who speaks Arabic, yet there is no place for him in today's military.

Our friends at Brave New Foundation have created a video telling Stephen's story. (video here) They have also created a petition you can sign and have sent to your members of Congress. Even if you don't have time to watch the video, check out the petition here.

You can read Stephen Benjamin's oped piece from the New York Times here.

Haven't we come far enough as people to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell?" The following countries allow homosexuals to actively serve in their military:

Great Britain

Denmark

The Netherlands

Czech Republic

Italy

Australia

Norway

Lithuania

New Zealand

Canada

Spain

Germany

Sweden

Belgium

Israel

Austria

South Africa

Ireland

Estonia

The Bahamas

Slovenia

Finland

How can these countries be more progressive than the US of A? Don't Ask... Don't Tell.